Lab study on the effect of pH and oxygen fluctuations on mussel adhesive plaques with mussels collected from Penn Cove Shellfish in Coupeville, Washington.

<p>Data generated from laboratory experiments that investigated the influence of fluctuating environmental conditions on the attachment strength of byssal threads as they aged. Mussels (<em>M. trossulus</em>) were collected from Penn Cove Shellfish, Quilcene Bay, Quilcene, Washington, USA Penn Cove Shellfish hatchery, Quilcene Bay, Quilcene, Washington, USA [47°47’48.0” N, 122°51”16.6” W] and held in experimental aquaria at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA for up to 14 days. Mussels produced threads over the course of 4 hrs that were aged in fluctuating oxygen and pH conditions for up to 20 days. Adhesive plaques were then pulled to failure to determine adhesion strength. A second cohort of mussels was placed in static pH and Oxygen treatments, recording the number of threads produced by each over one week.</p>